Tape



Sept. 22, 1953 R. WEINBERG TAPE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 11, 1950 INVENTOR RaaeR-r WEINBERG ATTORNEYS Sept. 22, 1953 R. WEINBERG TAPE' Filed Sept. 11, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 a m 54 I: I

INVENTOR ROBERT WE\NBERCr ATTORNEYS BY M vcorporated in the subjoined claims.

Patented Sept. 22, 1953 TAPE Robert Weinberg, New York, N. Y., assignor to Lastik Seam Sales Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 11, 1950, Serial No. 184,210

6 Claims. (Cl. 66193) This invention relates to tapes or stringers for separable fasteners and other uses and has for its principal object to provide a tape of this class fabricated from loomed, woven, knitted or braided elastic and inelastic strands and having wide densely woven inelastic side portions to one or both of which fastener elements may be secured, and a relatively narrow intermediate portion of elastic strands interconnecting said side portions and providing a transversely yieldable coupling between opposed edges of a garment or other article when coupled together by the fastener.

Another object is to provide an intermediate portion for the tape or stringer which will be transversely elastically yieldable while substantially non-extensible longitudinally of the tape, and essentially comprises closely braided and interwoven diagonally intersecting elastic strands.

A further object is to provide a tape or stringer as above characterized, in which the transversely yieldable intermediate portion thereof may be interwoven in a unitary structure with the inelastic side portions of the tape or may be fabricated as a separate unit having inelastic selvedge portions to be sewn to inelastic side portions of the tape, or directly to opposed edge portions of a garment.

- An, additional object resides in the provision of a transversely elastic, longitudinally non-extensible tape embodying inelastic selvedge portion and a single elastic thread having parts extending between and so interlocked or interwoven with said selvedge portions that the tape is rendered substantially run-proof.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises the improved tape or stringer for separable fasteners and the construction and relative arrangement of its several parts, as will hereinafter be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and subsequently in- In the drawings, wherein I have disclosed sev eral simple and practical embodiments of the invention and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

arable fastener;

Figure 2 is a detail elevation of the intermediate elastic section of the tape'fabricated as a separate unit and showing a part thereof in expanded condition; 7 Figure3 a horizontal sectional view substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 showing the tapes or stringers attached to opposed edge portions of a garment or other article;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the tape illustrating a modification in which the elastic strands of the intermediate tape section are iiiterwoven with inelastic strands of the side sections to form a single unitary structure;

Figure 5 is a detail view of another modification in which fastener elements are attached to each of the inelastic tape sections;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating an elastically yieldable tape of somewhat modified construction and showing the same in normal condition;

Figure '7 is a schematic detail view on an en- 1ljarged scale showing the structural details of the ape;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure '7, and;

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure '7 illustrating a further alternative form of the invention.

In the application of separable fasteners of the type illustrated to various articles of manufacture, such as corsets, brassires, slips and other articles of wearing apparel, in order to properly adjust the garment on the body of the wearer and to compensate for body movements which might cause binding and physical discomfort, it is necessary to provide a yielding coupling between the interlocking elements of the fastener and the parts of the garment. Various devices have heretofore been suggested for attaining this purpose and compensating for stresses or strains to which the garment or other article may be subjected. However, these prior devices while measurably accomplishing the desired end have not been entirely satisfactory, particularly as applied to ladies slips and other similar garments, since the elastic coupling unit was so located and of such construction that while permitting of a relative transverse yielding of the connected parts of the garment, it was ineffective to prevent an undesirable relative longitudinal movement or displacement of the parts of the garment to which the fastener carrying tapes or stringers were attached. In the present invention, the elastic and inelastic units of the tapes or stringers are so constructed and united that while possessing the required transverse elasticity, any appreciable relative longitudinal displacement of the connected edges of the garment is effectively prevented.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawing, in one embodiment of the invention, I provide a tape or stringer having comparatively wide elongated side portions in of densely woven inelastic fibrous material. The inner opposed edges of the side portions it of each tape, are connected by a transversely yieldable coupling indicated at l2, which, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, may be fabricated as a separate unit, or, as shown in Figure 4, may be integrally woven with the inelastic side portions in of the tape.

In the first case, the coupling [2 comprises narrow selvedge portions M of inelastic material which are connected and normally held in parallel relation with each other by the elastic thread strands l6 extending diagonally from one edge of each selvedge portion M to the opposed edge of the other selvedge portion and integrally woven therewith. These elastic strands are interwoven in intersecting relation between the edges of the selvedge portions I4, and while permitting relative transverse movement or separation of the two selvedge portions in opposition to the elastic resistance of the interwoven strands, effectively prevent any appreciable relative longitudinal movement of said inelastic selvedge portions.

The selvedge portions M of the elastic coupling unit are securely stitched, as shown at 18, to the opposed edge portions of the two densely woven inelastic side portions it of the tape or stringer. As shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, one of these side portions it is provided on its other free longitudinal edge with the usual reinforced bead to which the spaced elements 'Et'of a conventional type of separable fastener are "securely attached. The co-operating fastener elements 22 similarly attached to one of the side portions it of a coinplem'entary tape or stringer are adapted to connected in an interlocking relation with the fastener elements 2i? by the usual manually operableslider 24. The other inelastic 'side portions 10 of the two tapes or stringers are secured along their free edges to the respective parts of the garment or other article indicated at 2B in in- -wardlyspaced relation from opposededges there- 'of by means of the lines of stitching '28, shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

From the above description, it will be seen that by the provision of the tape or stringer for the separable fastener having a comparatively narrow, elastic coupling connecting densely woven inelastic side portions of the tape and which consists of diagonally intersecting and interwoven elastic thread strands, any appreciable relative longitudinal displacement between the side sections 10 carrying the separable fastener elements "and the other side sections I!) connected with the garment will 'be preventedwhile permittingoi a comparatively extensive range of relative transverse movement or separation between said side :portions of the respective tapes, as indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings. Thus, while the elastic thread strands it are normally in close contact with each other to provide a substantially imperforate elastic coupling portion forthe tape, this coupling will readily respond to various movements of the body of the wearer'and locally yield at various points throughout the length of the tape or stringerto'permit of the elastically restrainedtransverse separation of the side portions I9 of the individual tapes. Therefore, the garment will be properly held in its adjusted position upon the body of the wearer, without physical restraint or discomfort to the wearer and possible damage of the garment.

As shown in Figure 4' of the drawing, instead of fabricating the elastic coupling portion of the tape or stringer as as'eparate unit, the'diagonally nal lines of stitching.

intersecting and interwoven elastic strands ltd may be integrally woven with the opposed longitudinal edge portions of the two densely woven inelastic side portions [0 of the tape or stringer.

As shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, my improved tape or stringer may also be provided with interlocking fastener elements 39 and 32, respectively along the free longitudinal edges of each of the inelastic side portions 10 thereof for connection with complementary fastener elements carried by inelastic stringers secured to the opposed edge portions of the two parts of the garment or other article to be fastened together. Thus, only a single elastically yieldable tape is required.

InFigures 6, 7 and 8 a modified tape construction is shown in which a single elastic thread a is formed into a continuous succession of loops b. The selvedge portions of the tape each comprise two pairs of longitudinally continuous rows of chain loops of non-elastic threads, the loops of each inner pair '0 of non-elastic threads being interlaced or interlocked with the closed ends of loops b of the elastic thread a. The outer edge pair (1 of chains of non-elastic thread loops and the outer chain of thread loops c are interlaced with a connecting non-elastic thread e which spaces the adjacent loop chains o and d from each other.

In addition to the non-elastic "longitudinal threads 0 which are interlocked with the ends 'of the elastic thread loops b, the spaced legs 'of the thread loops bare also centrally interlaced with the chain loops oi'a longitudinally extending inelastic thread 1. As shown in Figure '6 in the normal condition of the tape the inner nonelastic threads o and the central non-elastic thread 1 lie in side-by-side'contact so that the elastic coupling web between the inelastic selvedge threads 0 is substantially imperforate.

The non-elastic selvedge portions of the tape may be integrally woven with the tape sections H! of Figure l or'theymay'bedirectly'secured to opposed edge portions of a 'garmentbylongitudi- 'In either case the 'nonelastic threads c'and of the-coupling web preclude relative longitudinal displacement'of the connected garment portions, while the elastic thread loops-b yieldinglyresist-transverse strains 'or stresses tending'tosep'arate the opposed portions of the garment, thus preventing possible rupture of the connection, damage to 'th'egarment and physical discomfort to the wearer. It will be noted that'b'y interlocking the threads '0 and f with the elasticthre'ad a the'development of a run in the event'the latter thread should break at any point inthe length'of the tapewill be prevented. The'inelasti'c parts of the-tape-ar e preferably formed'fro'm'nylcn thread.

Further insurance against-the development of "a run in the elastic coupling-section of'the'tape is obtained by the "construction" shown 'in i Figure :9 and is generally prefe'rred. This tapeis basically similar to that shown in- Figure 7 -an'd'to thecorresponding thread elements the same idenwithin the open ends of the loops b of the elastic thread a.

I Inelastic longitudinal core threads h are laid in or "incorporated through the chain loops of the two outer rows 11 and the alternate chain loops of the outermost row and the core thread are interlocked to the alternate chain loops of the innermost row within the closed ends of the elastic thread loops 1) by an inelastic thread 9'. This thread 7' extends through the chain loops of the two intermediate rows 0 and d. The thread 7' thus provides additional means permanently locking the ends of the elastic thread loops to the selvedge and rendering the tape substantially run-proof, while the core threads h provide additional means preventing lengthwise stretch or elongation of the tape.

The last described tape construction may be loomed, knitted or woven on various standard machines either as a separate unit or as an integral connection between woven or knitted side tapes 10 for use with a separable fastener, as previously explained.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a tape or stringer for separable fasteners of simple and highly durable construction which may be readily applied to various uses where it is desirable to provide a transversely yieldable coupling between two parts of the garment or other article for the purpose of compensating for stress and strains to thereby obtain a more comfortable and self-adjusting application of the garment to the body of the wearer. It will therefore be understood that my present invention resides essentially in the particular construction of the elastic coupling unit I2, and its position and relationship with respect to the free longitudinal edges of the relatively wide densely woven inelastic side portions I9 of the tape or stringer. Of course, the familiar type of separable fastener is merely illustrative of one adaptation of the present invention to a particular use or application thereof and other equivalent means for separably connecting the complementary tapes or stringers may be employed.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A transversely elastic, longitudinally nonextensible tape comprising inelastic selvedge portions and an intermediate transversely elastic coupling portion having a single elastic thread formed into a continuous succession of loops, each selvedge portion including a plurality of longitudinal rows of inelastic chain stitch thread loops, at least one of which is interlocked with closed ends of said elastic thread loops and inelastic interconnecting cross threads between alternate chain stitch loops in the adjacent rows.

2. A tape constructed as defined by claim 1, together with an additional inelastic selvedge thread interconnecting the other chain stitch loops of said one row within the closed ends of said elastic thread loops with the other chain stitch loops in the outermost row.

3. A transversely elastic, longitudinally non-extensible tape comprising inelastic selvedge portions and an intermediate transversely elastic coupling portion having a single elastic thread formed into a continuous succession of loops, each selvedge portion including a plurality of outer longitudinal rows of inelastic chain stitch thread loops and a plurality of inner longitudinal rows of chain stitch loops interlocked with closed ends of said elastic thread loops, inelastic cross threads interconnecting alternate thread loops in adjacent rows with each other, and an additional inelastic selvedge thread extending through thread chain loops in the intermediate rows and interlocking the other thread loops in the outermost row with the other thread loops in the innermost row within the ends of said elastic thread loops.

4. A tape constructed as defined by claim 3, together with an inelastic cord thread incorporated in the chain stitch loops in each of said other rows.

5. A tape comprising an elastic thread formed into a continuous succession of loops extending transversely of the tape, a plurality of longitudinal rows of inelastic chain stitch thread loops interlocked with the individual spaced legs of said elastic thread loops, said rows of inelastic thread loops lying in side-by-side contact in the normal condition of the tape and substantially covering and concealing said elastic thread loops, additional longitudinal rows of inelastic chain stitch thread loops forming selvedge portions, and inelastic cross threads interconnecting said rows of selvedge thread loops with certain of said first named rows of inelastic thread loops.

6. A tape constructed as defined in claim 5, together with a longitudinally extended inelastic core thread incorporated in selvedge thread loops in each row.

ROBERT WEINBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,582,667 Briggs Apr 27, 1926 1,799,210 Blaskopf Apr. 7, 1931 2,068,500 Marinsky Jan. 19, 1937 2,076,501 Larroque Apr. 6, 1937 2,150,133 Seidel Mar. 7, 1939 2,201,772 Hendley May 21, 1940 2,518,407 Weinberg Aug. 8, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 430,944 Great Britain June 27, 1935 526,160 Germany June 3, 1931 688,419 France May 12, 1930 

